The death toll from last month’s twin earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to 5,208, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Sunday.
In a post on social media platform X, Rodriguez said 16,740 people were injured in the powerful earthquakes that struck the South American nation on June 24.
He added that authorities have assisted 128,324 families affected by the disaster and established 107 temporary camps, currently sheltering 23,820 people.
The government has also recorded 1,388 aftershocks since the twin earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Environment Ministry announced progress on an environmental recovery programme aimed at restoring the coastline of La Guaira, one of the regions hardest hit by the disaster.
In a statement posted on its official Instagram account, the ministry said native plant species will be introduced to help restore the area’s ecological balance and rehabilitate damaged coastal ecosystems.
Minister of Popular Power for Ecosocialism Nelson Rodriguez said the earthquakes generated an estimated 2.106 million tonnes of debris in the affected region.
He added that the estimate was based on a modelling study conducted jointly by the Venezuelan government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).